title: Serum copper and zinc levels and copper/zinc ratio in pediatric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: 40 patients, 15 females and 25 males, with biopsy-proven non-Hodgkin's lymphoma within the age range of 2-16 years were included in this study. The mean serum zinc level in 38 untreated patients was 78.95 +/- 18.80 microgram % and significantly lower than in controls (p less than 0.001). The mean serum copper level in 40 untreated patients was 205.32 +/- 49.44 microgram % and significantly higher than in controls (p less than 0.001). The mean copper/zinc ratio in these patients was 2.75 and was found to be significantly higher than in controls (p less than 0.01). Copper levels were lower during remission (p less than 0.05). Our data indicate that serum copper levels and the copper/zinc ratio might be indicators for disease activity in children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000097:blood*; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000097:blood*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D015032:Zinc / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc